Head support devices are widely used by travelers, children in car seats, and other people that have to sleep with their torso in an upright position, such as while sitting. However, most head supports cannot effectively prevent the user's head from tilting forward or sideways, which naturally occurs while sleeping in an upright position, or avoid putting pressure on the carotid arteries, jugular veins, or the trachea. In addition, most known devices are held in place with the aid of a neck strap that puts forward pressure on the user's upper neck region causing discomfort and possibly injuring the vertebrae. In addition, some devices cannot remain in place unless the torso of the user is leaning forward on the device. One particular problem that has not been resolved thus far is that children riding in car seats tend to fall asleep in very uncomfortable positions, e.g. with their head hanging forward, sideways, or lolling to and fro. There are no head supports in the prior art that effectively prevent this problem.
For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,601 to Cowgur discloses a rest pillow for facilitating rest for a person in a sitting position comprising an inflated flexible substantially rectangular compartment, and a strap secured to the sides of the compartment for securing the compartment to the waist of the person using it.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,319 to Parks, Jr., discloses an inflatable pillow on which passengers on commercial carriers may lean forward to rest their head, the pillow substantially occupying the space in front of such passengers.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,394,554 to Hingle discloses a “7”-shaped seat belt pillow which includes a neck-supporting pillow member adapted to be placed behind the head or neck while sitting in a vehicle's seat along with a secondary body pillow which is angled to approximate the angle of a buckled shoulder restraining strap and adapted to be strapped to the seat belt so it can be hugged by the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,625,829 to Zell discloses a chin support pillow for supporting a person's head in an upright position while sitting including a flexible member that extends around the back of the person's neck.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,860,563 to Semsch, et al, discloses a device for avoiding or limiting the tilting of the head forwards and/or to the side of a passenger sitting in a seat which has a backrest, having one or more cushion-like elements designed to completely surround the side and front sections of the neck and/or of the head of the passenger and connecting around the back of the backrest or headrest.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,973,691 to Cordova discloses a portable elongated support pillow that is crescent shaped at the top and is propped between the chin and lap of a user. There are sling style pockets to accommodate a user's arms or a strap.
Nothing in the prior art provides the unique benefits afforded by the present invention.